Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Another Episode of "Is It Art, Or Isn't It?"

Not only is this a major weekend for music (The Get Down Town Festival!), it's also a major weekend for art: Saturday brings the opening of "Munnys That Bring Happiness" at the Lawrence Arts Center. For those not "in the know," a Munny is a small blank doll that can be personally designed by children (or artists). Saturday's exhibition will feature Munnys designed by as many as 80 local artists, including Jouv.lt (whose one word name hints of his importance). In Lawrence.com, Jouv.lt explains that his recent bondage paintings have inspired him to make a "simplified Munny where I just added hair, a stick, and a bondage rope." The Arts Center has forbidden anything "pornographic," however, so presumably none of the Munnys in Saturday's exhibition will actually be screwing each other. The event should be fun for young and old alike.

Chip: "This is just sick. First off, any artist playing with dolls is not a real artist. This is worse than puppetry, which is also not art. And second of all, any artist tying up dolls is possibly a budding serial killer. I think this Jouv.lt should be detained and questioned."

Richard: "This is art, but it's sort of scary art. Some of these little fuckers are creepy. It's like a cross between "It's a Small World" and that freaky Precious Moments Chapel down in Joplin, Missouri. I'm all for art that gives you nightmares, and this might do it."